


Strictly Shenko

by cdrlizziebean



Category: Mass Effect, Strictly Ballroom (1992)
Genre: Ballroom Dancing, Crossover, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-06-11
Updated: 2016-06-11
Packaged: 2018-07-14 08:53:05
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 16
Words: 11,630
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7164101
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cdrlizziebean/pseuds/cdrlizziebean
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Kaidan Alenko is a top ballroom dancer but as the National Championship approaches he takes the chance to dance his own maverick steps—against everyone’s wishes. After losing his professional partner, he teams up with a plain beginner with a dream to dance. Together they learn there’s more to dancing than just the steps. Heavily inspired and based off of Strictly Ballroom the Australian film.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

June pushed through the crowd, finding her way to the front. She straightened her glasses on her dark freckled nose and focused her attention on the gliding figures on the ballroom floor. Dancing was magical. She watched flowing pastel dresses spin around and around, blurring into a kaleidoscope of colors.

 

She wanted to dance just like that. She joined Shirley Alenko’s Dance Academy because of it. Her friend Ashley had gotten her discount lessons. She was part of couple number 69 on the dance floor with her partner Saren. She watched her friend move by, gritting her teeth and forcing a fake smile. June giggled. Saren was a bit of an ass but a good dancer. That’s what Ashley had said the night before through a fog of whiskey.

 

But the one that amazed her was couple number 100. With dark hair and a stoic face, Kaidan Alenko looked like he had been made to dance. His caramel eyes never left his partner. June tried to remember his partner’s name, she was tall and thin and her hair looked like waterfalls of black silk toping her head. They passed by her, close enough for her to see the pearl detailing in the woman’s gown.  _ Miranda _ . She remembered now. Miranda Lawson and Kaidan Alenko, pairing number 100. They moved across the floor with ease.

 

Saren and Ashley swirled by her. Ashley was cursing under her breath at her partner, who grinned back at her with sharp white teeth. His eyes weren’t an Ashley but on pairing number 100. He pushed Ashley towards them, spinning her as she protested through her teeth.

 

It took a moment for June to figure out what Saren was planning. By the time she realized, the whole crowd was in a chatter. Saren Arterius was boxing in Kaidan and Miranda. June bit her lip, feeling blood rush to her face as her heart raced.  _ Don’t be such an ass, Saren, _ she thought.  _ You dirty snake...fight fair. _

 

Kaidan whispered something to Miranda who looked back at him bewildered. June could see her mouth _ what _ but before Miranda could say another word, Kaidan had jumped, twisted, and slid right out from between Ashley and Saren. June only could hear Ashley’s barking laugh before the room broke out into a roar of applause. June was jostled out from the front as people jumped with excitement. She could barely see the bright flash of Kaidan’s bright costume as he spun and danced across the floor.

 

The song ended and the crowd continued to cheer. With all her might, June pushed herself back to the front, straightened her glasses, and scanned the floor. Ashley was whispering something to Saren, grinning like a fool, but Saren just scowled at Kaidan from across the floor.

 

“The winner of this year’s region five championship is couple number 69,” announced Udina who looked red faced and disgruntled thanks to the loud crowd. Saren stepped forward, dramatically sweeping his arms to the sides and pulling Ashley with him. The cheers subsided to a polite clap as Saren and Ashley approached the stage.

 

“Are you crazy, Kaidan?” Miranda’s shouts cut across the floor. The crowd stopped cheering, turning their attention towards the bickering couple number 100.

 

“Miranda, I had to--”

 

“Just stop. I don’t want to hear it.”

 

Miranda stormed off the floor, cutting through the crowd and banging against June. Stumbling back, June looked up at Kaidan. He stood working his jaw, fists at his sides. When their eyes met, he flexed his hands open, shaking the anger from them, and rushed forward. He gently moved June to the side with a polite  _ excuse me _ and rushed after Miranda.

 

The whole room fell quiet. June looked over at Ashley as she approached her, trophy in hand.

 

“That’s one way to make an exit,” she teased, laughing. Saren stormed up to her, removing the trophy from her hands unceremoniously, before leaving the floor. “June, remind me again why he’s my partner.”

 

“He’s a good dancer?” June responded, sheepishly, unsure if that was a good enough reason with how self-centered he was.

 

“Right.” Ashley sighed before looping her arm with June’s. “Come on, let’s get out of here. I’m starving.”


	2. Chapter 2

The Monday night ballroom class was fuller than normal. Everyone wanted to know about the guy who danced non-federation moves two nights before. June had been instructed by Mrs. Alenko to wax the floor and diligently tossed the Triple Crown powder wax across the floor while listening to the whispering comments from the dancers around her.

 

“He cost them first place with those moves.”

 

“But he looked so handsome doing them. If you pulled moves like that Henry, you might still be married.”

 

June giggled, watching the two stumble away as they try to remember their steps between bits of gossip. Shirley Alenko eyed June carefully as she directed her couples to focus on their steps. She shooed June to the back of the room with a wave of her hand.

 

June placed the powdered wax on the half wall dividing the dance floor from the rest of the room and turned her attention back to the dancers. She leaned against the wall. Her normal partner, Jenkins was missing for the third week in a row, so she stuck to just helping around the studio. At least she didn’t have to pay for tonight’s lesson and next week’s was paid for now...if Jenkins ever showed his face again.

 

“Hey, Shepard,” whispered someone close to her ear. The hairs on the back of her neck rose as they spoke, voice low and deep.

 

“Hi, Garrus,” she returned as coolly as she could muster without looking back from the dancers.

 

“I told you so. There was no way you could scare her,” came another voice that stuck on t’s and u’s.

 

Smiling, she spun around, her short curls whipping around her head. She pushed up her glasses triumphantly. “I recognized your heavy footsteps.”

 

Garrus frowned sheepishly. He was tall and oddly shaped for a dancer. His nose was flat and his eyes narrow with a tattoo across his face that his partner, Tali, had to cover with makeup before every contest.

 

Tali was small and round faced beside him. She had wide brown eyes and clear brown skin. She bit at her lip, trying to hide her laughter.

 

“Alright, alright, make fun of the big guy,” Garrus whined. Tali wrapped her arm around his.

 

“No, dear,” she clucked, “we would never.”

 

Before Garrus could retort, Kaidan entered the room followed by Miranda. He looked disheveled and upset. He stormed passed them, between Garrus and the wall, knocking the powder to the dance floor.

 

“June!” Shirley Alenko shouted, gesturing at the spray of powder that had claimed a quarter of the dance floor and the edges of people’s pants.

 

“Sorry!” June returned, collapsing to the ground and scooping as much powder off to the side and into the tin container.

 

“Sorry, June,” Garrus whispered, before turning his attention to Kaidan as he rounded the corner to the backroom. “Kaidan,” Garrus called, jogging after his friend. “Hey, Kaidan. You free tonight to teach us that move?”

 

“Not tonight,” Kaidan returned. “Just...not tonight.”

 

“Alright bud. Text me when you’re free then.” Garrus turned back to Tali shaking his head. Tali pouted, crossing her arms and looking pointedly at the doorway to the back room. 

 

June stood, wiping the white powder on her jeans. She frowned. She was covered in floor wax powder, her usual dance partner was missing, and she looked like an utter mess. This wasn’t her night. All she could do now was clean up and go home.

 

“Hey, Tali, could you grab me the--” June’s phone buzzed in her back pocket. She jumped at the sensation. Tali laughed.

 

“Of course you’re phone would scare you, but not me,” Garrus huffed.

 

June smiled and looked at her phone. Ashley had texted her.

 

**Ash:** _In hospital. Can you watch An for me tonight?_

**June:** _ What? Are you okay? What happened? _

**Ash:** _ Caracdinet. Fucktyp ing is hardd widrugs. _

 

June sighed, holding her phone to her chest. She looked over at Shirley who had forgotten all about the mess on the ground and was directing her attention to the framework of one of her couples.

 

“What’s wrong, June?” Tali asked, drawing herself close to the half wall.

 

“Ash is in the hospital. I should--”

 

“Go, go. I’ll clean this up,” Tali interrupted, pushing her towards the back room where the dressing rooms were. “If Kaidan gives you any lip for being back there just do that stare thing you do.” June narrowed her eyes at Tali, locking her jaw into place. “Yeah, that one. That’ll make him do what you want.” Tali laughed.


	3. Chapter 3

In the quiet of the back room, June made her way to the women’s changing room, trying her damnedest to ignore the two arguing in hushed tones in the middle of the dim back room, but she wasn’t successful.

 

“Kaidan, I can’t do this,” Miranda breathed, completely unaware of June. “I can’t expect you not to want to dance your moves and you can’t expect me to stay with you when you do. You aren’t going to win. I want to win. I  _ need _ to win.”

 

“I know, Miranda, but...they were good, weren’t they? Those moves were good,” Kaidan whispered back, voice borderline too loud for even a whisper.

 

“Kaidan, you aren’t listening!”

 

And he wasn’t. He was looking past her, knowing he wasn’t going to get the answer he wanted.

 

June looked up at them, back pressed against the women’s dressing room door. He was looking at her now. Well, not exactly at her. More like through her.. Kaidan’s warm caramel eyes felt a lot colder when they were level with hers. June blushed, ducking into the dressing and hastily closing the door behind her.

 

She shook her head, clearing her mind. That wasn’t her problem. Her problem was her best friend being in an accident. She swiped open Ashley’s contact and tapped dial. She waited until the line picked up before pressing it against her ear.

 

“Hello?” Ashley answered, voice hushed and sloppy.

 

“Ash? Are you okay? What happened?”

 

“Oh, June. It’s you. Nothing. I just...got in a little fender bender. Leg’s all shit and I’m hopped up on some drip thing they put in my IV. It’s great. We should get some.” Ashley hiccuped on the other side of the line.

 

“But you’re alright? How do you still have your phone?” June pressed, sitting down on a long bench. The dressing room had 16 tall lockers, one bench, and a huge vanity that Shirley convinced many dancing ladies to try her makeup. June glanced at her reflection in the vanity mirror. She looked out of place in her oversized Citadel Rockets t-shirt named after her cousin’s softball team. No ballroom dancer looked like her. No ballroom dancer had oversized glasses and worn sneakers.

 

“A girl never kisses and tells,” Ashley giggled. June groaned, staring up at the ceiling. “I’m just great,” Ashley slurred. “I’m busted up and had to call Saren before the meds kicked in and he yelled at me, but...I’m just great.”

 

“Oh, Ash. I’m sorry.”

 

“Fuck him. He’ll find someone else and I’ll get whatever this shit is to go.” She laughed until she wheezed and paused. Then Ashley began again, as serious as she could under a fog of painkillers. “You need to take care of Andromeda for me tonight. Poor kitty all alone. Promise!”

 

“I promise. You get some rest then. I’ll call you tomorrow.”

 

Ashley hung up with a harumph. June sighed, slipping her phone back into her pocket. At least one disaster was taken care of, she supposed, pulling herself to her feet. She stepped over to the vanity. A few of Mrs. Alenko’s products were laid neatly on the counter, a few types of blushes, some mascara. She looked at her reflection again. Her freckles were hidden under a glowing blush already that crept across her dark cheeks in uneven splotches. Her face was round and her eyes small. “At least you’re teeth are straight,” she muttered to herself turning to leave the dressing room.

 

As she reached for the door, Miranda burst through. June stumbled back, falling to the ground with a quiet thud.

 

“I’m sorry, Kaidan. I’m not dancing with you,” she said, opening her locker and emptying its contents into her gym bag.

 

“Then who you going to dance with?” Kaidan returned, holding the door open and boxing June in the corner of the dressing room. She pulled her feet close, afraid to make her presence known.

 

“Saren.”

 

“What? Saren? He’s got a partner.”

 

“No. My friend Jacob sent me a message. Ashley Williams got in a car accident. She’s probably out for the season.” Miranda collected her gym bag in her fist, turning back towards Kaidan with renewed determination. “So, I’ve put in my request.” She marched forward, grabbing the edge of the door and pushing Kaidan out of the way.

 

“Shit,” Kaidan breathed. The door closed and June was alone again.

  
“Shit,” June repeated, letting her legs sprawl back out in front of her.


	4. Chapter 4

June didn’t move for a moment, or twenty moments. She couldn’t tell in the quiet of the dressing room. No one used it on Monday nights. The beginner students were too afraid to use the dressing room. So she didn’t know half an hour had passed. She didn’t know that the whole of the studio had been locked up. She didn’t know Kaidan Alenko was dancing alone on the ballroom floor.

 

And he didn’t know she was still there.

 

June stood, pushed open the dressing room door into the dark backroom, and sighed. She would have to stop by Ashley’s apartment on the way home. That would be ten minutes in the opposite direction.

 

She grabbed her jacket from the hook by the doorway and entered the main room without looking up.

 

Her Uncle Rico would be furious. He hated when she was out too late. She contemplated sending her mother a text before leaving, digging for her phone in her pocket. She looked up at the sound of movement before her. The lights were dim over the dance floor, but she could still see him move. Kaidan Alenko was dancing his own moves and it was beautiful.

 

She froze in place--hand halfway in her pocket and jacket tucked against her chest. She watched him cross the floor like it was made of silk, gliding and spinning with grace. June bit her lip. He was the best dancer she’d ever seen. She wished she could be even half as graceful as him.

 

He stopped before the large mirror, blinking at his reflection between deep breaths. His eyes flicked to the side, noticing June hovering in the dark. He turned abruptly.

 

“I’m sorry,” she blurted, shifting her coat from one arm to the other. “I--”

 

“What are you doing here?” Kaidan asked, crossing the dance floor. He flipped the main lights back on. June winced, squinting at the change in light. She pushed her glasses up, tight against the space between her eyes.

 

“I...I forgot something, and…and…” She straightened up, locking eyes with him as he crossed back over to her. “I think you move beautifully.”

 

The answer he was looking for, but from the wrong person.

 

“Thank you, but--”

 

“I saw you dancing on Saturday,” she continued without prompt I don’t care what the judges say but Saren is a dirty cheat and you danced beautifully.”

 

Kaidan could feel heat rise to his cheeks. He had been complimented about his dancing before but never for  _ his  _ moves. Never for what he loved. “Right?” he exclaimed, getting closer to her. June blinked. “Saren left us no choice and I’m a good dance. I know I am. And I just had to get us out of that situation. And…” He trailed off, smiling. 

 

“Yeah,” June returned, caught up in the excitement. “I completely understand. I make up moves sometimes myself. They aren’t as good as yours yet, but you did perfect on Saturday and--”

 

Kaidan took a half step back. The excitement lost in his eyes. Why was he talking to her about this? She was a beginner. She didn’t know the rules. She knew nothing. He nodded, politely. June swallowed, ducking her head and stepping back.

 

“You should head home,” Kaidan returned quietly, turning back towards the dance floor. June looked up at him, clutching her jacket close. She had a dumb idea. The stupidest idea she’d ever had. One that she would regret saying, but she knew she’d regret it more if she kept it to herself.

 

“Mr. Alenko. I...um…”

 

He turned back towards her, dark eyebrows raised.

 

“You should dance your moves at the Grand Pacifics,” she said just above a whisper.

 

“With whom? I don’t have a partner,” Kaidan laughed. The back of June’s neck tingled.

 

“With me.” She stopped for a moment, waiting for the thought to hit him. He opened his mouth to respond and she pressed forward. Her words tumbled out in a chain, linking one word to the next. “I know I haven’t danced as long as others but I’m a fast learner and I dance from the heart and--”

 

“I can’t dance with you,” he nearly shouted. June recoiled. Kaidan swallowed his anger. June was polite. She was sweet and her grey eyes glittered like his used to at just the thought of dance. His stomach dropped. “A beginner,” he calmly began again, “has no right to approach an open amateur and ask to--”

 

“No open amateur has the right to dance non federation steps but you did and here we are.” June’s voice wobbled. “Just...practice with me for an hour. Just see. What else do you have to lose?” 

 

_ Nothing. _ The word popped into Kaidan’s head before his mother’s voice could interject in the back of his mind.  _ Everything _ .

 

“Everything,” he breathed. It wasn’t what he wanted to say but it was what he was supposed to say. She looked like she was going to cry. Her skin blotched a dark red and her eyes were wet with tears. He didn’t want her to cry. He felt his hand flex open and then closed again. June blinked, shaking her head. She cleared her throat and looked up at him again. The tears gone.

 

“Right,” June began again with more determination, stomping towards him. “Right, because you’re scared. You’re like the rest of them. You think you aren’t, but you are!” June was shouting now. She didn’t know why. “You are just like the rest of them because you’re scared. You’re a coward. Vivir con miedo, es como vivir a medias!” 

 

June snapped her mouth shut, covering her mouth. Kaidan stared at her with wide eyes.  _ What had she done? _ She had yelled at him the same way her uncle yelled at everyone. June composed herself, narrowing her eyes and locking her jaw. He sighed, rubbing the back of his neck.

 

“Alright, one hour.”

 

It took a moment for his words to settle. It took a moment for June to realize he was agreeing to her terms, that she was going to be able to prove herself. June smiled, jumping up and down and dropping her coat. She quickly scooped it back up and composed herself. “I’ll show you, Mr. Alenko. I’ll show you I can do this.”

 

“Please, just call me Kaidan.”

 

“My name’s June.” She placed her coat on the half wall and returned to him. He put his arms up and she followed suit.

 

“Alright, June.” Her name was lovely, he thought, clearing his throat. “We’ll do the Ramba. The story of love. Look at me like you’re in love.” June folded into his arms, looking at their feet to find her place before looking back up at him. Her eyes glittered. “Pretend,” he said, voice low as if he was talking to a child. “Pretend to be in love.”

 

Her eyes softened as she smiled at him, a weak smile that barely twitched her lips.

 

“Good.”


	5. Chapter 5

“Anderson wants me to take tryouts,” Kaidan announced the next evening as June adjusted the strap across her shoe.

 

“Right,” June returned, trying to not sound disappointed because she knew this was going to happen. Anderson was his trainer. He’d want him to get a partner right away and June wasn’t his partner yet. No one knew they were dancing together.

 

“Anderson knows what he’s talking about,” he continued hesitantly. “He and my mom used to dance. Won a bunch of contests…. So I’m going to do them...the tryouts.” 

 

June stood, bouncing on the toes of her heels. She usually wore sneakers to dance class. She hadn’t worn heels in months. This pair was only broken in because she had gone to three weddings in a row about a year before.

 

“Understandable,” she said, putting on a fake smile. Kaidan sighed, obviously relieved that she wasn’t going to freak out on him. “Ready to go?” She put her arms up into position.

 

Kaidan laughed. “Yeah, I--”

 

The door to the studio swung open. June turned to see who it could be but Kaidan pulled her by the arm to the back room. 

 

“What--”

 

“Shh,” Kaidan whispered, placing a finger against her lips. She felt her face flush. June was glad for the darkened back room. If Kaidan saw her blush so much, he’d think she liked him or something. “Come with me.”

 

Kaidan pulled June by the hand, up the stairs to the roof and stopped before the overlook to the studio. There in the spotlight hovering over the dance floor was Kaidan’s father. He pushed up his glasses, moved his arms as if about to embrace a fellow dancer, and swiped across the floor as graceful as any time June had seen Kaidan dance. He danced the quiet beat of music, moving in intricate circles and waves.

 

“I see where you get your creativity from,” June said breathlessly. Kaidan looked at her. Her nose nearly pressed against the window and her glasses slid to the tip of her nose. She hadn’t been sarcastic. She meant what she said, through and through. She was the first person he’d met that was always sincere with him, always truthful.

 

Kaidan opened his mouth to say something. Then with a twitch of his fingers, he realized he was still holding her hand. He pulled away, swallowing.

 

June turned to him with a small smile, trying to ignore how his hand felt in hers, and how childish she felt for thinking about it.

 

Kaidan returned her smile, eyes dancing across her face. “We can practice that spin you were having troubles with last night.”

 

June nodded, removing her glasses to clean a speck off the lens.

 

“Can you see without your glasses?”

 

“That’s a silly question, don’t you think?” she returned with a laugh. She placed the glasses back on her face.

 

“Right...I just…”

 

“I do have contacts,” she blurted, seeing the wave of embarrassment across Kaidan’s face. “I don’t wear them a lot because…”  _ I just don’t have the money. My family doesn’t have the money. I only dance because I get cheap lessons. I only have three pairs of contacts left and I don’t want you to know.  _ “I’ll just wear them tomorrow, huh?”

 

“Right,” Kaidan said, smile lighting up his face. “Alright, let’s go.” He scooped June up in his arms, and off they went, dancing across the rooftop.


	6. Chapter 6

Two weeks of tryouts and late night dancing had frazzled both of them, but June had successfully stopped blushing every time he touched her. Kaidan’s sister had given June every excruciating detail about the tryouts.

 

“None of them can dance!” the little eight-year-old Kylie Alenko exclaimed as June cleaned the mirrors for the night.

 

“None of them? None of the  _ professional  _ dancers can  _ dance _ ,” June teased, watching the little girl carefully in the mirror reflection.

 

“Well, yeah. No. You know what I mean, June. You gotta know. They just…” Kaidan’s little sister fell to the ground with a dramatic thud, sprawling out across the dance floor. She stuck her tongue out at the ceiling. “They have no chemistry.”

 

“Can you even spell chemistry?” June looked up to see Kaidan in the reflection of the mirror. She turned quickly, holding the washcloth behind her.

 

Kylie stood, frowning at her older brother. “Yes. Yes I can.”

 

Kaidan chuckled. “Go home, bug. Mom’s waiting for you in the car.”

 

“What about you? Are--”

 

Kaidan cleared his throat, stopping Kylie from finishing her sentence.

  
“ _ Fine _ ,” she stated. “Don’t tell me anything. It’s not like I  _ wanna _ know things.” She huffed and stormed out of the studio.

 

“She’s cute,” June said, taking a half step forward. She had almost sauntered that step, like some sort of confidence had sparked in her as soon as the door swung close and she was alone in the room with him.

 

“I don’t know,” Kaidan teased. “I wonder if I could trade her in for a dog.”

 

June barked out a laugh. Her hands shot to her face, dropping the wash rag behind her. Kaidan smiled at her, stepping forward and pressing his hand against the small of her back. She instinctively moved to her position, one hand in his and the other on his shoulder.

 

“I was thinking,” he stated, no longer counting their steps as they moved. “We could show Anderson tomorrow. You know. You could try out. Show him.”

 

June stumbled on her steps and abruptly stopped. They stood in the middle of the dance floor a foot apart. June’s hands gripping his forearms. “Are you serious?” Her eyes were wide and darted between his eyes and mouth, trying to find the truth before he could even answer.

 

Kaidan laughed. “Yes, I think we’re ready.”

 

June squeezed his arms, jumping up and down. He had never seen her happier and he couldn’t help the warmth rising up his neck. “Oh, I won’t let you down. I can’t believe--” She stopped, letting go of his arms. “What am I going to wear?” She placed her hand over her mouth as she thought.

 

Her face was so open and vibrant without her glasses. He could see the twinkle in her grey eyes as she thought, the twitch in her eyebrow, and the faint pink blush over her warm brown skin. She looked up at him and smiled from under her fingers.

 

Both of them were blushing. Both of them were staring at each other and blushing.

 

Kaidan cleared his throat. “Why don’t I walk you home then? I think we can take a break tonight.”

 

June nodded, still smiling.


	7. Chapter 7

June wondered if she should have warned Kaidan about how far away she lived, but instead only mentioned it was up the hill and across the railroad tracks. Kaidan had given a nod, and June couldn’t tell if he actually understood the implications of it being up the hill and across the railroad tracks. That was at least a thirty minute walk. She bit her lip and pressed forward.

 

“When you yelled at me the other day,” he started, seemingly unaware that they had been walking for twenty or so minutes without talking, “what did it mean?”

 

“What did what mean?” June returned, feeling the heat of regret rise through her chest.

 

“Viver co--”

 

“Vivir con miedo, es como vivir a medias?”

 

“Right,” Kaidan smiled at her. “That.”

 

“Oh.” Her voice felt very small as Kaidan looked at her with one thick eyebrow cocked. “It’s something my uncle says all the time. It means something along the lines of ‘a life lived in fear is a life half lived,’” she said, daring a glance at him. He had turned his eyes back up the hill, mouthing the words as he thought.

 

He hummed before letting out a low chuckle. “I guess we’re living a full life then.” He looked back up at her. Their eyes locked. Kaidan’s eyes were so gentle now. Not the first time she had found his eyes on her. They were warm, almost smiling at her.

 

She smiled, all teeth and no restraint. “I suppose we are.”

 

They rounded the corner. June’s home appeared in the street lights. Her smile faded. That was the fastest thirty minutes of her life. She stopped short of the street lamps glow and turned to him.

 

“Thank you for walking me,” she breathed. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”

 

Kaidan opened his mouth to say something completely different than the words that came out. “Definitely.”  _ Do we have to part? _ He smiled weakly at her and turned back down the street. When he was far enough away, June slipped between the buildings to the back. She couldn’t enter the front door. Her uncle would find her and--

 

“June, where have you been?”

 

She froze at the sound of her uncle’s voice. She turned to him. He had stepped out from the front door, from the small grocery store they owned, and leaned into the darkness. He squinted at her..

 

“I’m sorry I’m late. I had to feed Ashley’s cat and--” Her uncle tsked, turning back to the door. She wasn’t completely lying, though she feed Ashley’s cat in the morning when she left for the studio. Her uncle didn’t notice her slipping away a few minutes early every morning. He did notice her coming home late.

 

“Tomorrow you stay home. I need you to watch the store.”

 

June opened her mouth to protest but he had already disappeared around the corner. She bit her lip. This wasn’t going to go well.


	8. Chapter 8

A little past 4:30 in the afternoon, June tiptoed out of her room, down the stairs, and through the back door. She had to catch the bus to the dance arena, where she was going to dance with Kaidan Alenko and show everyone that she could do it.

 

“Whatever you plan on doing,” a voice chimed in behind her. She knew that voice. It was her mother’s voice, ringing across the small yard from behind a wall of laundry hanging to dry. June turned to her, straightening up. “I would be quick about it. Your uncle will be back soon.”

 

Hannah Shepard, June’s mother, looked around the large white sheet she had just hung up. She had June’s dark hair and warm skin, and the corners of her eyes crinkled as she winked. June smiled before dashing around the corner and up the street.

 

She felt like Cinderella but with beige heels and a floral dress. A floral dress that looked out of place at the dance arena. Everyone was dressed in vibrant, sequined gowns and jackets. June ducked and weaved between dancers, trying to find Kaidan in the sea of colors.

 

“Oh, June!” Shirley Alenko’s voice met her before a thin hand squeezed her arm. “Isn’t it wonderful June? Isn’t it exciting?”

 

“What?” June whispered, feeling herself being pulled away from the crowd. Anderson beamed at her. His dark eyes glittered with hope and excitement.

 

“I can’t believe it. It’s fantastic. I’m so glad Kaidan found a partner,” Anderson exclaimed, relief flooding through him.

 

June grinned, blushing bright under the layer of makeup. Her short black curls bobbed back and forth as she looked between Mrs. Alenko and Anderson.

 

“Isn’t it fantastic, June?” Shirley repeated. June nodded enthusiastically. “Who would have thought he’d dance with Liara? She’s so good. I’m so happy.”

 

_ Liara? _ The name hit her hard in the chest. Her knees felt like buckling.  _ Of course they didn’t mean me. Of course he’d dance with her. _

 

June felt someone come up behind her, pressing a hand gently against the small of her back. She turned abruptly. Kaidan stood before her, smiling. She blinked up at him, trying to stop her tears. Kaidan’s face fell.

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

June pushed past him, disappearing into the crowd of dancers.

 

“Oh, Kaidan. I’m so glad. You and Liara will be perfect dancers,” his mother called to him. “Kaidan, are you listening?” He locked his jaw, pushing through the crowd, running after June.

 

June stumbled past Miranda. June tried to say excuse me but it came out as a bubbling sob and Miranda couldn’t hear her anyway. Her shrill voice could be heard over the crowd as she berated Saren for the alcohol on his breath.

 

She finally stopped backstage where the air felt cooler and the hum of voices was just that, a hum, distant and calming. She sucked in a ragged breath, trying not to cry.

 

“June, I didn’t know.” Kaidan was there. Of course he was there, all tall and dressed in black. His hair was combed back, the curls tamed. He was so handsome, she hadn’t noticed that when she ran from him before, and his eyes were so soft and concerned.

 

“No, it makes sense. I could never dance like her. You should dance with her.” She was sobbing now. Tears ran down her cheeks in sleek damp lines, one right after the other. “Everyone looks so happy.”

 

“June, I... “ His voice trailed off. “You dance better than her. You’re fantastic. We’ll show them.”

 

He stepped up to her, placing his hand at the small of her back. He offered the other to her, pulling her to him as soon as her hand touched his. She sniffed, collecting herself. On the count of four, he moved her gently across the floor. She looked up at him, her eyes red and puffy, before closing her eyes. He was dancing with her. He had run after her and they were now dancing, swaying across the floor. He had chosen her.

 

June opened her eyes, looking over his shoulder. There stood a crowd of people: Kaidan’s little sister, Kylie; his mother; his father; and Anderson. Kylie grinned at her, excitedly pressing her hands together, ready to clap when they finished. Kaidan’s mother, on the other hand, stood in complete shock.

 

“Kaidan!” Shirley Alenko shouted. June stumbled, collapsing to the ground. Before Kaidan could help her up, Anderson had pulled him away, questioning his sanity. Shirley picked June up, pulling her away and down into the dressing rooms. June dared one last glance at Kaidan before disappearing behind a curtain.

 

“Come on, June,” Shirley whispered, sitting June down in one of the makeup chairs. “What were you thinking? Do you want to ruin his chances of winning?”

 

“No,” June’s voice was so small and childish. She felt five years old as Shirley cleaned up her knee. She hadn’t even noticed she had gotten a cut until now.

 

“Then what are you doing?” Shirley repeated, staring at her. “You can’t just let your childish fantasies ruin someone else’s career, hon.”

 

June swallowed, unsure if she should cry or be angry.  _ Looks like the clock has struck twelve, little Cinderella. _ She stood. “You’re right,” she breathed, voice so quiet that Mrs. Alenko almost missed it. “I’ll leave.”


	9. Chapter 9

Kaidan had never raced across town for a girl before. His mother could attest to that. But for June, he did.

 

He reached her doorstep after dark. The front of the store dim and empty. The sign on the door read  _ closed _ . He pounded on the window. He had to talk to her.

 

He looked around the corner of the building, noticing June sit on a swinging bench. She had her head tilted against the frame, slowly rocking back and forth. The glow of the porch light highlighted her dark features. She looked beautiful, sad but beautiful. He slipped into the shadow between buildings and inched closer to her.

 

“June,” he whispered. She looked up, slowly realizing that it wasn’t just her mind playing tricks on her, but Kaidan really standing there, back against the wall.

 

She stood, pushing Kaidan out of view and disappearing right behind him. “What are you doing here?” she hissed. “Go home. Leave or I’ll get in trouble.”

 

“What happened about a life lived in fear and all of that stuff?” he whispered back. She froze, her hands still pressed against his chest. She slowly moved away, training her eyes on the ground.

 

“You were right. I’m a beginner. I can’t dance like them. I’m--”

 

“I don’t want you to be like them. I want to dance with you.” His voice broke. It was more of an admittance to himself than anyone.

 

June bit her lip, looking up. “We won’t win.”

 

“I don’t care.”

 

June felt her heart leap into her throat. The back of her neck tingled and her fingers itched to grab his hand. “Kaidan, I--”

 

“Who is this?” June jumped at the sound of her uncle’s voice. He pushed past her. “Who are you?” He was brash and angry and he pushed Kaidan back towards the street.

 

“Uncle Rico, please,” June called following them out onto the street. “He’s my dance partner. We dance.”

  
“Dance? What kind of dance?”

 

June’s uncle stops for a moment, looking more ready to fight than to listen. Kaidan runs a hand through his dark curls, causing them to fall out of perfect form. “Paso doble,” he returned. June pursed her lips.

 

Uncle Rico looked Kaidan over for a moment. June bit at her lip. “Show me then,” Uncle Rico stated, gesturing for his brothers to come out from their hiding place and play a song. June rolled her eyes. She couldn’t believe her family was doing this. All of her uncles were crazy.

 

“Uncle Rico, please don--”

 

“It’s fine, June. We can show them.” Kaidan rolled up his sleeves, and tousled his hair with his hand once more before reaching for her hand.

 

The music picks up and they dance. June feels stiff and awkward with her family watching her. She was better at the Ramba. If she could show them the Ramba.

 

Kaidan moved beside her, his caramel eyes locked onto her. She felt a chill run down her spine. He was trying to prove himself here. His eyes were too calculated, too cold. Her mother stifled a laugh as June turns into her next move. June glared, spinning back towards Kaidan. Her uncle laughed as well, causing everyone else to break into balking laughter.

 

Kaidan stopped, turning towards June’s uncle Rico. “What’s so funny?”

 

“You dance like boards,” Hannah Shepard called from the door. “You dance with no heart.” June swallowed, looking at her mother. “Here, let us show you.” Hannah nodded at Rico and took to the street. She stood before him and waited for the music.

 

And then they danced. June had never seen her mother dance this way. She knew she’d danced once or twice before June was born but never got to see the magic in her steps. Kaidan watched carefully, his eyebrows knitted together in concentration.

 

When the music died down, Hannah took Kaidan by the arm. “I’ll teach you. Rico and I are excellent teachers,” she teased, grabbing June with her other hand as she passed by. She pulled them both to the back yard. June’s eyes met with Kaidan’s. She blushed. He smiled.


	10. Chapter 10

Kaidan had a grin permanently glued to his face as he walked home later that evening. The stars were bright above him and the roads were clear. He practiced the steps that June’s family had showed him. 

 

For the first time in a long time, he was honestly happy.

 

He pushed open the door to his house, humming the tune that had been playing all night as they danced. 

 

“Kaidan!” his mother shouted from the middle of the kitchen. He looked up at her. She stood, holding a jug of orange juice. She was five seconds from pouring her third screwdriver for the night. The glass on the island behind her already held the clear alcohol. “Where have you been? You just run off like that in the middle of everything. Liara was upset. What were you thinking?”

 

Kaidan closed the door, quietly turning to his mother. He was only a few feet away from her, standing near the fridge. He could see the haze of alcohol in her eyes.“I just--”

 

“Doug, talk to your son will you. Stop lazing about and talk to your son about how he’s throwing his life away!” She twisted towards the counter, slammed the jug of orange juice on the table, sloshing out the pulpy liquid, before narrowing her eyes at her husband who sat innocently on the couch.

 

“Don’t talk to dad that way. Stop calling him lazy, dammit,” Kaidan returned, voice carrying across the room. His sister peaked around the corner from the hall. He would have apologized for waking her, but all he could do was flex his hands. His mouth twitched.

 

Kaidan’s mother spun around. “Do not disrespect me. The sacrifices we have made for you.,” Shirley Alenko hissed. Kaidan could smell the alcohol on her breath.

 

“Oh, shut up. You didn’t do any of this for me. You didn’t open the studio for me. You pushed me into dancing and luckily, luckily...I love dancing.”

 

“And what about David?” Shirley continued without skipping a beat. “David Anderson has taught you everything you know.”

 

“I’m bored with it.”

 

Shirley inhaled sharply, throwing her hands up. “I cannot believe this. I cannot believe this.” She swallowed, placing a hand on her stomach to calm herself. “Kaidan, dear,” she said softly. “You have to stick with this. You have to. If you stick to it, it’ll bring you rewards.” She smiled, the same smile she’d thrown at dozen’s of her beginners who, frankly, couldn’t dance.

 

“What rewards?” Kaidan returned, exacerbated. He leaned his head against the side of the fridge, looking at his mother.

 

“Winning the Grand Pacifics, of course.” Her voice rose, as if what she said was so matter-of-fact, so obvious that she was surprised Kaidan didn’t already know. She blinked hopefully at Kaidan.

 

After a moment of excruciating silence, he pushed himself off the fridge. “I don’t care about winning,” he said just above a whisper, “and if you’ll excuse me, I’m tired.” He brushed past his mother and into the hall. His little sister had already raced back to her room. He could see her peeking through her bedroom door, smiling.

 

Shirley stares at the hallway, hoping her son would turn around and tell her it was all a joke, that he would never do anything to disappoint her like that, but he didn’t.

 

Shaking, she pulled out her phone and dialed up Anderson.

 

“David, dear. Kaidan has just gone insane. He doesn’t want to dance your moves. He’s just saying all this nonsense and I--”

 

“Shirley, do you know what time it is?” Anderson whispered groggily across the line.

 

“Does it matter, David? If Kaidan is…” Shirley trailed off, tears welling in her eyes. She looked up at Doug who moved quietly from the couch and out of the room. “Kaidan wants to dance his own moves and he’s going to ruin everything. He’s going to make a mess of everything.”

 

“Nothing terrible is going to happen, Shirley. Trust me. We’ll solve it in the morning. Good night.”

 

The line clicked. Anderson had hung up. Shirley nodded at the silent phone, taking in a deep breath.

 

“Nothing terrible is going to happen,” she repeated. “Nothing terrible--”

 

Her phone buzzed in her hand. She recognized the number: Miranda Lawson. Shirley tried her best to smile, knowing that she was still a professional, and slid her finger across the answer button.

 

“Hello, Miranda dear, how ca--”

 

Mrs. Alenko pulled the phone from her ear as a high pitched screech rang from the extension, followed by Miranda Lawson, Kaidan’s old partner, yelling louder than she had ever done in her entire life. “That jackass Saren just dropped me for  _ Liara  _ T’Soni.”

 

Shirley dropped her phone. Terrible things most definitely happened.


	11. Chapter 11

“Good. Very good,” June’s uncle Rico complimented, patting Kaidan on the shoulder. June beamed at Kaidan from the porch. She clapped, bouncing in her chair. Her mother laughed, never looking up from the dress she was hemming. Kaidan blinked up at her. She looked extraordinary. Her grey eyes twinkled. Her dark cheeks dusted with rust freckles that popped as she smiled at him. Honestly, if, three weeks ago, you had asked Kaidan Alenko if June Shepard was beautiful, he would have sheepishly made the excuse that every woman was beautiful, but tonight he wouldn’t hesitate. Yes, most definitely, yes. June Shepard was beautiful and Kaidan Alenko was falling in love with her.

 

He cleared his throat and looked over at Rico, who was demonstrating another move. “Now if you and June can do this,” he continued, unaware that Kaidan was barely paying attention. He spun on the balls of his feet and looked expectantly at Kaidan who followed in turn a few seconds after.

 

June clapped again. Kaidan blushed.

 

“You and Kaidan are…” June’s mother began. June looked over at her, watching her deft fingers working the fabric. “If your father was here, he’d be very proud,” Hannah Shepard said quickly without looking up. June’s father had died when she was young. She remembered dancing on the top of his shoes at a young age. She remembered her mother wearing the same dress being hemmed when she was only five years old.

 

“Momma, I…” Her voice trailed off, not knowing what to say. June reached across the table, placing her hand on her mother’s. Hannah stopped and looked up at her daughter.

  
“I’m proud of you, too. You and Kaidan will look beautiful on the dance floor.”

 

June smiled, squeezing her mother’s hand. “Thank you.”

 

“Don’t be so jazzy,” came Uncle Rico’s voice, stopping the tender moment. June looked over at her dancing partner and uncle. Her uncle looked perplexed, stomping around the back patio, mocking Kaidan’s movements. “June, come here. We’ll show him.”

 

June jumps up at the opportunity, pulling her skirt back into place before running up to her uncle. She framed her arms and her uncle pulled her into a swooping move, spinning her across the patio.

 

“Like this,” Uncle Rico instructed. “Not what you were doing.” June’s uncle spun her out and towards Kaidan. “Now your turn.” June giggled, adjusting her frame up to Kaidan’s, and they took off without skipping a beat. He spun her around and around the patio. His eyes locked on hers. The blush crawling up both their cheeks was noticeable to everyone but themselves. 

 

Uncle Rico chuckled. “You are ready,” he breathed as if a huge weight was off his shoulders. “You are ready,” he repeated, clapping.

 

June and Kaidan stopped. The swish of her skirt tangled between them, but they didn’t separate. 

 

“Now, I go make dinner, and you two…” Rico teased, gesturing for Kaidan and June to leave the yard. “Come back in forty minutes.” Hannah laughed from the porch.

 

The dancers separated, finally aware of the blush in their cheeks. June was the first to break the silence between them. “Want to go for a walk?” 

 

“I would love to.”

 

June grinned, slapping her hands along the sides of her legs in triumph before rounding the house to the street. Kaidan followed, nodding politely at Hannah before disappearing around the corner of the house.

 

“Do you think we’re ready?” June asked, spinning around to him as soon as she made it to the empty street.

 

Kaidan paused for a moment, sticking his hands in his pockets. He looked up at the darkening sky. Purples and pinks splayed across small puffy clouds. “I think so,” he breathed, surprising even himself. He looked back down at June. “I’m sure we are.”

 

If he had known making June smile would have given him such intense pleasure, he would have tried sooner. He would have made her smile every day he had known her. His heart jumped as she bit her lip and skipped a few steps up the street.

 

“I can’t believe we’ve come so far,” she shouted at the sky. “We are going to dance in the Grand Pacifics.” With arms stretched out beside her, she spun in place. Kaidan walked up beside her. She stopped and faced him. “We’re going to dance,” she repeated quietly in the space between them, “in the Grand Pacifics.”

 

“I know,” Kaidan returned with a laugh.

 

“I couldn’t tell. You’re just too calm,” June teased. He smiled at her.

 

“You know, June, I wanted to say something before this weekend,” Kaidan began. June looked at him expectantly. “You know what I said about the Ramba? About it being pretend. I think I made a mistake about that.”

 

“What do you mean?”

 

Kaidan leaned forward, brushing his lips against hers. June’s eyes fluttered shut. She pushed into him, fingers tracing up his arms as they kissed. Kaidan pulled away suddenly, the tingle of his touch still on her lips. He smiled at her. “That’s what I mean.”

 

“I guess that’s something, huh?” she said with a laugh.

 

“Yeah. I suppose it is.” Kaidan couldn’t stop grinning at her. “But, listen, I have to go. I promised I’d teach Garrus and Tali a move before the competition this weekend. So...I’ll see you later then?”

 

June nodded, taking a half step back so he could pass by.

 

“Tell your family I’ll have dinner with them next time, alright?” 

 

June nodded again. The repercussions of the kiss finally sinking in. Kaidan chuckled, leaning in and placing another kiss on her temple before taking off down the road. June’s face flushed hot. 

 

Her phone buzzed in her back pocket, causing her to jump back to her senses.

 

Swiping at the screen, June had a hard time focusing on the message.

 

**Ash:** _Thank you for watching Andromeda. She looks fatter than normal._

**June:** _ I was worried she wouldn’t have enough food during the day. _

**Ash:** _ You’re like my mother. Anyway. Did you hear the rumors? _

**June:** _ No. What? _

**Ash:** _ People are saying that Alenko is going to do more nonfed steps. _

**Ash:** _ Udina denies it but he’s a fuckwit so he would. _

**June:** _ Ash. I gotta tell you something. _

**June:** _ And you have to promise to keep it a secret. _

**Ash:** _ June Shepard has a secret. Do spill. _

**June:** _ I’m dancing with Kaidan Alenko. _

 

There was no response for a solid five minutes. June was worried that the message hadn’t been sent. Then her phone rang. Ashley was calling her.

 

And while the street lights came on, June spilled everything. Well, everything but the kiss. That was her secret to keep.


	12. Chapter 12

When Kaidan arrived at the studio, stars were in the sky outside and the dance floor was empty.

 

“Hello? Garrus? You here, buddy?”

 

No response. Kaidan closed the door behind him, flicking on the main room lights.

 

“Garrus? Are you getting back at me for skipping out the la--”

 

“Kaidan, my boy.” Udina’s voice bellowed from the backroom. Kaidan jumped.

 

“Oh, Mr. Udina, I didn’t--”

 

“Please call me Donnel. I’ve known you for years, ever since you were a boy,” Udina continued, walking across the room and onto the dance floor. He looked back at Kaidan in the reflection of the wall mirrors. “We don’t have to be all that formal, now do we?”

 

He turned to Kaidan, clasping his hands behind him.

 

“No, sir. I mean…” Kaidan chuckled nervously. “If you’re looking for my mom, she’s most likely gone home now and--”

 

“No, I’m looking to speak to you. I wanted to talk to you about your father.”

 

Kaidan straightened. “What about my father?”

 

Udina cleared his throat, drawing his hand across the half wall. A thin film of dust came off on his fingers and he frowned. “Your mother and father were great dancers. Your father...he threw everything away by dancing his own moves.” He sighed, dramatically, looking up at Kaidan from under his thin eyebrows.

 

“But Anderson was mom’s partner.”

 

“No it was your father,” Udina returned, nearly shouting at Kaidan. He paused a moment, collecting himself. “Your father was once one of the greatest dancers I’d ever seen, both your mom and him. He could do any dance out there and all the ladies loved him.” Udina chuckled to himself. “We used to be buds, your dad and I. David too. All of us great dancers...but with Shirley? With Shirley, your father was unstoppable.”

 

Kaidan smiled weakly at him, before looking away towards the mirrors. He could imagine them dancing, even though he never actually saw them both. They must have been spectacular.

 

“Then your father decided to become selfish,” Udina hissed, voice low and angry. “He decided to dance his own moves. Dance moves that were...well...not always strictly ballroom. Your mother just couldn’t understand why your father was doing something like that. He was convinced that they would win doing his own steps, but they didn’t. They couldn’t.” As dramatically as he started, Udina finished his story with a longing sigh.

 

“I don’t understand…” Kaidan rubbed the back of his neck, shaking his head.

 

“Your father never danced again. And, and when you were born, he vowed that one day you’d win the award he never could. That’s why I’ve been so hard on you. That’s why we all have. Don’t go down the same path, Kaidan. I can’t watch you do that. We can’t watch you do that. It’ll kill your father.”

 

“Why didn’t he want to tell me?”

 

“It ruined your mother’s career,” Udina said softly, as if he had helped Kaidan’s father make the decision, as if he had sat with the poor man trying to undo what he’d done. “He didn’t want you to know.”

 

Udina paused, looking Kaidan over, before rushing up to him, slapping his hand against his arm. “Dance with Miranda. Win it once for your dad.” Udina squeezed Kaidan’s arm. “I know you’ll make the right decision.” 

 

Without another word, Udina turned and disappeared through the front door. Kaidan balled his hands into fists, gritting his teeth. He didn’t want to do this.


	13. Chapter 13

Kylie Alenko had never been more disappointed in her brother than during the Grand Pacific Tournament. She watched her older brother glide across the dance floor with Miranda Lawson and not June Shepard. She frowned every time her brother caught her eye--though catching her eye was not quite what he was doing. His face was serious, unmoving, focused on nothing. Miranda smiled hard enough for the both of them. Saren moved passed them with Liara hissing at him. It seemed that everything was back to normal.

 

“Oh, they look wonderful,” Shirley cooed, clapping as they finished. Anderson nodded, scanning the crowd. His eyes fell on June, dancing in beginners with Jenkins who stumbled awkwardly over his steps. June looked plain, dressed in a floral dress instead of the sequined red and black gown her mother had been fixing up.

 

As Kaidan walked off the floor, he saw June. Her eyes met his and though he tried to plead his apology with just his eyes, she looked away.

 

“Hey, Kaidan. You did good out there,” Anderson tried to say above the clatter of the audience. Kaidan nodded, turning away from the dance floor.

 

“Kaidan?” Doug called, before being pushed away by Shirley. “Kaidan, I need to talk to--”

 

“Not now, Doug. He has to get ready for the next dance,” Shirley hissed, pushing her son farther into the crowd and towards the dressing rooms.

 

The song ended and everyone politely clapped for the beginners. Kaidan turned, catching June storm off the dance floor and behind the curtains. He pushed through the crowd, leaving his yelling mother behind.

 

“June!” he yelled, throwing the curtain to the side. In the dim back hall, Kaidan could see June standing at the top of the stairs. She had stopped for him, but even he could see she was questioning why. “June, let me explain.”

 

June groaned, bunching up her skirt in her fist and dashing down the stairs.

 

“June please.” He ran after her: down the stairs, down another hall, weaving through excited dancers. “June!” He reached out and grabbed her by the arm, spinning her towards him. Her face had paled, tears running down her cheeks.

 

She sniffed hard. “What? What do you want with me?”

 

Kaidan’s heart dropped, watching June cry. “There’s a reason I’m dancing with Miranda, June,” he breathed.

 

“I don’t wanna hear it.”

 

“Listen to me,” Kaidan pleaded

 

“No.” June’s voice was hard and cold.

 

He wanted to tell her everything, about how he was doing this for his father, but part of him didn’t want her to know the truth. He almost wanted her to hate him, like he deserved it. “It’s hard for me, too, June.” 

 

June ripped her arm from his grasp, holding it close to herself as if she was wounded.

 

“Hard?” June laughed with tears in her eyes. “Hard? How hard do you think it’s been for me? To get you to dance with me in the first place? Spending every day cleaning that damned studio and being bossed around for shit classes, just so I’d have a reason to be there and….” She stopped, swallowing. “Hard? Huh…”

 

“You don’t understand.”

 

“I understand. You’ve got your Grand Pacifics to win and I’m back in beginners where I belong.”

 

June took in a deep breath, looked Kaidan over once, and stormed away.

 

Before he could go after her again, Kaidan’s father pulled him by the arm. “Kaidan, please, I need to talk to you.”

 

“Not now, dad.” Kaidan tried to push his father away, but Doug pulled harder.

 

“Yes, now!” he shouted. Kaidan stopped, turning towards his dad. This was the first time he had ever heard his father raise his voice.


	14. Chapter 14

“Garrus? Hun, are you even paying attention to me?” Tali asked, waving a small hand before her boyfriend’s face. “We go on in like twenty minutes.”

 

“I know,” Garrus sighed, grasping her hand. She giggled. “But I have to ask Kaidan about that move.”

 

“Oh, God,” Tali rolled her eyes. “I told you it’s the left foot first and--”

 

“But Kaidan knows for sure.” Garrus looked at Tali with bright excitement in his eyes.

 

“Alright, let’s go find him,” she sighed, pulling Garrus along with her through throngs of dancers. “I know he went out the back. I saw him earlier.”

 

They disappeared behind the curtain, down the stairs, and through the back hall. Garrus was about to complain that they were never going to find Kaidan when they heard Udina talking, not so quietly, to Saren. They were tucked away in one of the smaller storage rooms that Saren had claimed as his dressing room...or better yet, his own personal bar. Garrus peaked around the corner, seeing Liara almost in tears, her blue eyeliner threatening to run, and Saren clutching a bottle of scotch.

 

Tali tugged on Garrus’ arm to let them be but he shrugged her off, leaning hard against the doorframe.

 

“Mr. Udina, Saren is drunk. We can’t win like this. I can’t dance with him like this,” Liara whispered through gasping sobs.

 

“Don’t worry my dear. No matter what. You and Saren are made to win. I have it all set up. Kaidan Alenko is going to go out there and no matter what that boy dances, he’s not going to win. His reputation will be shot and you, my dear, will be partnered with a winner.” Garrus could hear the smile in Udina’s voice, satisfied with his plot.

 

Garrus turned to Tali. Who stood with her hands over her mouth, staring at Garrus. “We have to tell Anderson,” he whispered to her. Tali nodded, pulling Garrus back to the main dance floor. There was a need to win. And then there was Donnell Udina’s need to win.


	15. Chapter 15

“Kaidan. You can’t do this,” Doug said, trying to keep his voice even. “I know--”

 

“I know you regretted dancing your own steps at the Grand Pacifics, dad. I know. June will...June will understand someday but for now--”

 

“No, I never danced at the Grand Pacifics,” Kaidan’s father nearly shouted. He let out a sigh of relief, looking over his son.

 

Kaidan froze, narrowing his eyes at his father. “I don’t understand. Udina told me you lost dancing your own steps.”

 

Doug shook his head. “Udina convinced your mother not to dance with me. He told her to dance with Anderson.”

 

It finally clicked in his head. Donnell Udina had been lying to him. He had been lying to him this whole time. Kaidan felt like he had gotten punched in the gut.

 

Shirley burst into the hall, scanning the scattered groups of dancers. “There you are,” she called, bustling up to them. “We have to go get you ready for the next dance. Kaidan? What’s wrong?”

 

Kaidan swallowed. “Mom, why did you dance with Anderson? Why wouldn’t you dance with dad?”

 

Doug dipped his head. Shirley gasped, slapping her hand across Doug’s shoulder. “Why did you have to go tell him all that? Kaidan, dear, we would have lost if we had danced your father’s steps. I had no choice.”

 

“You lost anyway,” Doug hissed, looking up at his wife. “You should have stuck by me, Shirley.”

 

“I did it for you, Doug,” she returned.

 

“This was  _ our _ dream, Shirley. Ours.”

 

“Udina convinced me there was too much at stake. Our dancing career was on the line.” Shirley was pleading now, as if this response had been bubbling just below the surface for decades. As if she was trying to convince herself. “We would never have been able to teach. I wouldn’t throw that away on a dream. We had to survive.”

 

Shirley turned to her son. “Kaidan please. Just go up there and dance.  _ Now. _ ” She pushed him towards the stairs to the ballroom. “ _ Please. _ ”

 

Kaidan straightened his jacket, looking back at his mother once. His father stared intently at Shirley. “We lived our lives in fear, Shirley. In fear. Kaidan, don’t do this.” 

 

“Doug!”

 

Kaidan spun around to his father who looked at him with tired, pleading eyes. “Dance how you want to dance. Don’t repeat our mistakes.”

 

Kaidan smiled at his father, thankful. He didn’t want to dance with Miranda. No matter how good of a dancer she was, no matter how kind she was. He wanted to dance with June. He wanted to see June smile at him as the glided across the floor. He reached out to squeeze his father’s shoulder before rushing past him and out of the building

 

“Kaidan!” Shirley shouted as Kaidan disappeared behind a closing door.

 

Not too far from him, June trudged on, holding her folded jacket. Hannah had wrapped her arm around her shoulder.

 

“It’ll be alright. I pr--”

 

“June!” Kaidan picked up his pace, chasing after June for the third time since he’d known her.

 

June stopped before turning quickly to begin an assault of every insult she could think of, but when she saw his face, she could barely think of one.

 

“Kaidan Alenko, I am done having this--”

 

“Do you still want to dance with me?”

 

June’s mouth snapped shut and her eyes wide as she tried to process what he just said. “What did you just say?” she finally asked.

 

Hannah laughed. “He wants to dance with you, girl. So dance.” She nudged her daughter towards Kaidan who beamed at her. “I brought the dress just in case.”

 

June turned to her mother, gathering up the dress in her arms. “Thank you, momma. Thank you.” She kissed her mother on the cheek, turned to Kaidan, grabbed his hand, and took off running back into the auditorium.


	16. Chapter 16

David Anderson had only been truly mad three times in his life. Once when he was six years old and he’d lost the spelling bee to a cheater. Once when he lost a dancing competition to another cheater. And now, as Garrus explained to him that Donnell Udina was cheating.

 

“Donnell!” Anderson shouted through the dance hall. Even with music playing, Udina could definitely hear Anderson shout his name. Anderson crossed over to the judges’ table. Udina sighed.

 

“It’s not my fault he ran off David. Kaidan just wasn’t cut out for winning this,” he sighed.

 

“It wouldn’t matter anyway. Now would it, Donnell?”

 

Udina frowned, standing from his seat. He guided Anderson behind the curtain.

 

“I know what’s going on. It wouldn’t matter what Kaidan dances. You’ve rigged--”

 

“You betrayed his father. What do you expect?” Udina responded smugly.

 

“But you said Doug wanted me to dance with Shirley.  _ You  _ told me that.” Udina didn’t react. After twenty years, Anderson finally realized the truth. Udina had lied to him. He had lied to all of them, and he was going to continue to lie, if he had his way. “You won’t get away with this,” Anderson hissed, hands curling into fists.

 

“Listen here.” Udina pushed the curtain to the side, revealing the dance floor. “You see those dancers out there? You see Saren? That’s the future of the dance sport and  _ no one _ is going to change that.”

 

Udina grinned triumphantly at the floor. Anderson opened his mouth to retort but before he could, Kaidan Alenko, in all his sequined glory, slid onto the dance floor, spinning on his knees. He lifted his hand out to his partner, a blushing June dressed all in red and black. Udina’s smile fell.

 

Kaidan stood, focused on June. He slipped his hand into hers and in an instant they were moving to the rhythm. There was no memory of them fighting. There was no memory of Kaidan having another partner. It was just like every practice they had done. June’s eyes twinkled with excitement.

 

Each spin, each step garnered the attention of the crowd. Udina was furious. He marched up to the announcer, snatching the microphone from his hand.

 

Behind the stage, Garrus noticed what Udina intended to do, to stop Kaidan and June from dancing. He rushed forward, pulling at the microphone cord until it unplugged from the extension with an loud feedback whine.

 

“Cut the music,” Udina hissed, rushing to the sound booth. Anderson ran around the curtain, cornering Udina before the booth, and without another word, swung his fist at Udina’s smug face. Anderson’s hand connected with a crack and Udina fell to the ground.

 

But Kaidan and June never noticed the mic feedback. They never noticed the commotion off the dance floor. They kept dancing. They kept moving. The crowd cheered after every spin.

 

Udina collected himself from the ground, fixing his jacket and turning back towards the sound booth. While everyone had their back turned, Kylie had locked herself in the sound booth with her young partner, sticking out their tongues at the grown ups outside the glass.

 

Anderson smiled at the two young dancers in the sound booth, rubbing his knuckles. He had wanted to punch Udina for a long time. He turned back to Kaidan and June dancing, the smile on his face growing larger. They looked beautiful.

 

Udina gritted his teeth, pushing behind the sound booth and up to the collection of cords and yanked out what he assumed was the sound booth. The music cut off instantly. The dancers on the floor slowed and stopped. Coming out of a spin, Kaidan pulled June close to him. Looking over as Udina re-emerged from behind the curtain. He fixed the microphone cord and stepped up to the announcer podium.

 

“There has been a disqualification. Kaidan Alenko and partner are suspended until further notice,” Udina announced, grinning through his words. “Will Kaidan Alenko and partner please leave the floor.”

 

“Shit,” June whispered, tightening her grip on Kaidan’s arms.

 

“This is the final call for Kaidan Alenko and partner. So please,” he shouted, growing frustrated at the silence and the disobedience, “leave the floor.”

 

June looked up at Kaidan who smiled weakly at her and separated. He turned to the crowd and bowed. This was it. This was all he had left. He sighed, pulling up from his bow.

 

A clap echoed through the room. Followed by another and another. In defiance, Doug Alenko had begun to clap out the beat. Kaidan looked at his father, pride welling in his chest. June looked from Kaidan to his father and back again.

 

Hannah and Rico stood, joining Doug. The claps echoed louder. More people began to join in. Kaidan looked to June with a fire in his eyes. She nodded with a smile and as if the music never stopped, they danced again. The crowd clapped, excitedly, beginning to lose beat.

 

Backstage, Miranda found the bundle of cords unplugged and with renewed determination, plugged them back in. The music came back and the crowd went wild. When the song ended, June laughed, bouncing on her feet again. She pulled both of Kaidan’s hands into hers.

 

“We did it,” she mouthed, knowing that Kaidan would never be able to hear her over the roar of the crowd. They both looked over at Doug, smiling.

 

As the cheering died down, Doug walked over to his wife, taking her hand in his, and led her to the dance floor. The rest of the crowd followed suit. Couple after couple flooded to the floor.

 

“We did it,” June repeated. This time aloud for Kaidan to hear. He turned to her, scooping her back in his arms and spinning her around once.

 

He stopped ready to say something, but instead, she leaned forward, kissing him hard. He kissed her back, hands slipping from position and to her face. She went to pull away and he tugged her back for another kiss. She giggled. She definitely felt like Cinderella, but this time she wasn’t going to run from her Prince Charming.


End file.
